Scoliosis is painless, but each degree makes a difference,
especially in children whose spines are growing and developing for
years to come. Spines with less than a 30-degree curvature have few
problems, unlike patients with larger curves.

A difference in shoulder height, waist asymmetry or rib
prominence-one side looks higher when bent forward-are all possible
hints of scoliosis. The pattern is often identical, forming a
backward S. The upper spine tends to curve to the right while the
lower spine curves to the left.

Following the curve

Golden describes her childhood curve as abnormally shaped, which
meant ordinary braces weren't an option. Because she was only 13,
her spine was growing. She just had to wait and see if it would
continue to curve.

A few months later, X-rays showed the curve had progressed.

"When my curve got to 40 degrees, my doctor said, 'You're going
to need surgery.' The decision was scary-there's a chance of
paralysis," says Golden. Her aunt and grandmother, having had the
surgery, influenced her choice to do so.

Scoliosis tends to run in families, but experts haven't
pinpointed the gene. At least 50 percent of those diagnosed have no
family history, according to DeWald, meaning the genetic
inheritance is still a puzzle.

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis occurs 75-80 percent of the time
in girls, "probably something with girls reaching a growth spurt
sooner than boys, but it could be genetic," says DeWald. "We're
more concerned about girls who haven't started their periods and
already have a significant curve."

Scoliosis treatments include observation, bracing or surgery. It
has come a long way since Joan Cusack's brace in the 1980s flick
"Sixteen Candles."

"If you look back 20 years, patients were in the hospital for
three to four weeks and a body cast for up to nine months.
Oftentimes they didn't return to sport activities," says DeWald.
"Today our patients are out in four to five days and they're
playing competitive sports in six to nine months, excluding contact
sports like football and gymnastics."

Life after

After the successful surgery, Golden stayed home for two months.
Sitting straight as a board, she took exams at her dining room
table and homework sheets were pushed in front of her. An in-home
tutor kept her on track in school.

Being an active kid, Golden worried about not playing her
favorite sports.

"I listed every sport I wanted to do and my doctor checked off
when I'd be able to do each one," she recalls. More extreme sports
like water skiing, bungee jumping and sky diving are excluded.

The surgery left her exhausted and physical rehabilitation took
a while, so she took a tennis season off.

She decided to have the surgery in the spring. That next winter
she was playing squash.

Looking back, Golden thinks she gained confidence because she
successfully dealt with a physical abnormality in the awkward
middle school stage.

Throughout the diagnosis, surgery and recovery, she wrote When
Life Throws You a Curve, chronicling the journey.

Today, Golden is a spokesperson for the National Scoliosis
Foundation. She hopes people become more aware of the condition as
well as cutbacks on school screenings, which are no longer mandated
in Illinois. That means pediatricians should be checking for
scoliosis in children age 7 and up during routine examinations.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons recommends that
health officials screen girls twice (at age 10 and 12) and boys
once (at age 13 or 14).

The case for screenings

Only 26 states mandate school scoliosis screenings. Illinois
isn't one of them. Georgia does. From the age of 10 to 14, both
boys and girls are screened twice.

"It's 30 seconds for each student, and there's a variety of ways
for it to be accomplished," says Mary Lou Oliver, Scoliosis
Screening Program coordinator at Children's Healthcare of
Atlanta.

Georgia has a two-step process. First, health officials teach
volunteers or coaches how to do the screening. Using a form, the
schools work with the public health department to do a second
screening on kids who possibly have scoliosis.

"We expect to have within that screening program specificity and
sensitivity so you get the kids that are positive for scoliosis
without getting too many false positives," Oliver says.

Screenings can also find other things like impetigo, moles, MRSA
or fungal infections, according to Oliver.

Illinois only requires physical examinations before a child
enters sixth and ninth grade.

"You're going to miss when this is developing in adolescent
growth spurts," says Oliver of the Illinois process. "Kids need to
be screened annually."